Herons in a square

It's Thursday, high time for another piece of art from the upcoming Birds in Art show. This one, entitled "Displaying," comes from the pencil of well-known artist and conservationist Robert Bateman. 

Herons, as you know, are lengthy creatures. They have long bills; they stand on long legs that trail behind them when they fly; they have long necks; and they fly on huge wings that can stretch six feet from wingtip to wingtip. 

They come in a size and a shape, in other words, that seems to demand a rectangular canvas -- one that's either tall enough to accommodate snaky necks and spindly legs or wide enough to allow spread wings -- but Bateman's portrait is square. 

Wingtips are cut off. Feet and legs below the tibiotarsus aren't visible. It's as if Bateman wants us to look through special binoculars with an exceptionally narrow (and four-sided) field of view, to focus not on topographical completeness but on courtship. 

Forget the feet, forget the primary feathers, he seems to be saying -- and get a load of those nuptial plumes! --C.H.